Sleepwalking
by Kelli. With an I
Summary: [EC] Silly bit of fluff for the one scene that every EC shipper has written a fic about. The 'no midnight tiptoe' scene from WFDF.


Just a completely silly little ball of fluff for the scene that every E/C shipper has written a fic about…the "No midnight tiptoe" scene in "Wet Foot/Dry Foot."

Obviously, I don't own the characters, the settings, or anything really.

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Staring blindly into the dark, Eric let out a disgruntled sigh. He couldn't sleep; though he knew that was his own fault for letting his imagination run wild. Every time he came anywhere close to falling asleep, a new vision of the woman just a few yards away would strike him, and he'd be fully awake again. Frustrated, he rolled over onto his stomach, attempting not to fall off of the small sofa in the process. 

Why he'd gone to her that afternoon instead of Speedle or perhaps Tyler was beyond him. Eric knew without a doubt that he wouldn't be able to sleep at her place…unless, of course, they were both exhausted from having just…

He raked his fingers through his hair, trying to divert that train of thought. That was dangerous territory…yeah right, like he wasn't already _in_ dangerous territory. Part of him was starting to wonder if maybe he would have been safer just going back to his place. Maybe Horatio had stirred up the neighborhood, but at least Eric would have been able to sleep.

After a few more moments, Eric finally pulled himself to a sitting position, having given up on the idea of sleep. He felt around on the coffee table in front of him for the remote, figuring Calleigh wouldn't mind if he watched TV, as long as he kept the volume low. Turning it on, he flipped through the channels, finally settling on one of those late night talk shows after finding nothing else interesting.

Making sure the volume was very low, Eric stood from the couch, thirsty. He stretched for a moment, then quietly began to maneuver his way through the apartment. He tiptoed his way down the hallway toward the bathroom, purposely bypassing the kitchen, even though it was far closer to the couch than the bathroom was. At anyone else's place, Eric would have just gone to the kitchen. But not at Calleigh's. Here, it was an obvious decision to get a glass of water from the bathroom, just because those few extra footsteps would take him by Calleigh's bedroom, quite possibly granting him the view of a sleeping Calleigh.

Although, in his current state, that was the last thing he needed to see, but that didn't stop him from wanting it. He crept stealthily past her doorway, just barely nudging the already partly open door. He didn't stop then; instead, continuing on to the bathroom for his glass of water.

He pulled a cup from the bathroom cabinet and filled it halfway with water. Downing it in just a couple sips, he set the cup aside, taking a look in the mirror, noting just how tired he looked. He knew he should be back out there on the couch, but really, even though he was tired, Eric found he was even more tired of trying to sleep, especially knowing that idea was a lost cause. Turning the tap back on, he splashed some cool water on his face, grabbing a hand towel from the rack behind him. He dried his face, not missing just how much the towel smelled of Calleigh. He chuckled, realizing that was probably one reason why he couldn't sleep. The couch, the blanket, the whole living room -- everything in the apartment smelled like Calleigh. _Can't imagine why on earth that would be, _Eric thought dryly.

Finished in the bathroom, Eric turned off the light and quietly stepped back into the hall. The first thing he saw was the low light pouring through Calleigh's open doorway into the hall. Eric froze for a moment, knowing Calleigh in all probability was not asleep. He'd gotten by the first time, but now, since he'd nudged her door open, he didn't know how he was going to make it back to the couch without getting caught.

Even knowing that, Eric still couldn't stop himself from pausing in her doorway. Calleigh lay in bed, reading, her hair clipped up at the back of her head. Eric had the sudden urge to remove that clip, to let her hair fall all around her shoulders, the low light from the lamp on the bedside table bouncing off of it, making it glow. Eric also had the urge just to go right in there, pull the book out of her hands and kiss her crazy.

It was a good thing he had a decent amount of self-control when it came to Calleigh.

Deciding he'd better get back out to the living room, he turned and took one step in that direction. As soon as his foot fell, a loud creak issued from the floorboards beneath. He cursed under his breath, hoping Calleigh didn't hear that.

No luck.

Calleigh looked up from her book, a look of confusion coming over her face upon seeing Eric standing just outside her door. "Eric?"

Eric swallowed nervously. "I wasn't doing anything!" he blurted quickly.

Calleigh raised an eyebrow. "I thought we agreed on 'no midnight tiptoe.'"

_Maybe you agreed, but my fingers were crossed, _Eric thought with a smirk. Catching Calleigh's suspicious look, he quickly looked for an explanation. "I wasn't, uh, 'midnight tiptoeing,'" he said.

"Really. Then what are you doing?"

Eric thought for a moment. "I'm…sleepwalking," he said, that being the first thing to come to his mind.

"Sleepwalking," Calleigh repeated. Looking at her face, Eric knew Calleigh didn't believe him in the slightest, but there was also a flicker of amusement in her eyes that told him he wasn't in trouble. Or at least he hoped that's what it meant.

"Yeah. I'm sleepwalking. Right now," he said with a grin, walking through the doorway.

"Let me guess, you sleep-talk too, huh?"

"Oh yeah, all the time," Eric replied, walking around her bedroom.

Calleigh stared. "Well, do you have to do it in my bedroom?"

Eric gave a small laugh. "I'm sleepwalking, Calleigh. I don't know where I am or what I'm doing." He winked, crawling onto the bed next to Calleigh.

Calleigh rolled her eyes, a tiny laugh escaping her. "You're insane," she murmured, shaking her head before going back to reading her book.

Eric watched her for a moment, partially shocked. Calleigh wasn't dense, not in the least bit. She knew he was completely awake, and yet, she wasn't making him go back to the couch. She was just letting him lie there beside her while she read, as though that were perfectly normal.

Feeling his gaze on her, Calleigh looked back at him, seeing his eyes immediately shift to her book, as though he were reading. She chuckled. "Sleep-reading now, Eric?"

"Oh yeah. You know, I'm an expert at that." He grinned. "It's the only way I ever read anything in high school."

Calleigh laughed softly as she turned the page.

"Hey, I wasn't done reading that page," Eric protested, pretending to be annoyed.

"Too bad."

Eric stuck his tongue out at her, crossing his arms in false irritation. Calleigh only shook her head in amusement. That simple action caused a few strands of her hair to fall from the clip, and absently she tucked them behind her ear. Eric didn't know why, but that action tore a hole in his self-control, and slowly he reached behind her, pulling the clip from Calleigh's hair and watching, transfixed, as the golden strands fell around her face and over her shoulders. "You're beautiful," he murmured almost inaudibly, before he could stop himself.

Calleigh forced herself to concentrate on her book, ignoring the slight amount of heat in her cheeks; ignoring the feeling of his fingers combing through her hair. "Eric…" she said quietly. She didn't want him to stop; didn't want to send him back to the living room, but she knew that was for the best. "Maybe you should go back…"

Eric smirked. "I'd just sleepwalk my way back in here."

"Then maybe we should wake you up."

Eric's eyes widened; he stared at her in mock disbelief. "Don't you know? You should never, ever wake a sleepwalker."

"And why's that?"

"Because something bad will happen."

Calleigh stared. "And just what is that?"

Eric paused. "I don't know. But I'm sure it's bad."

Calleigh snorted. "Well, there's logic I can't argue with," she said sarcastically. She directed her eyes once again to her book, trying to ignore the feelings Eric had stirred within her just moments before. They weren't unwelcome feelings, exactly; it was just that Calleigh didn't want to deal with them. Not when they could turn things so awkward in just a heartbeat.

Eric watched her read for several minutes, noting that she seemed to be concentrating far too hard to actually be reading. He smirked, deciding that if she really wasn't reading, then there was no need for her to be holding the book. He shifted on the bed, reaching over and gently pulling it from her grasp.

"Eric!" Calleigh protested. "I was reading that!"

Eric grinned, making sure he marked her place before closing the book and setting it on the table on his side of the bed. "No, you weren't," he said quietly, tracing her face with a finger, hearing her breath quicken just at that simple touch.

"Eric, I-"

Calleigh never finished the rest of her sentence because suddenly, Eric's lips were upon hers, and she certainly wasn't going to make him stop kissing her just so she could finish her sentence. Instead, her eyes fluttered closed, and she kissed him back, her hands finding their way to the back of his neck. After a moment, Eric pulled back, and Calleigh opened her eyes, looking directly into his eyes hovering just inches above her own. She grinned, trailing a finger along his cheek.

"What was that, a sleep-kiss?" she teased.

Eric smirked, leaning in for another quick kiss. "Oh no, I'm fully awake now." He raised his head, pretending to look around the room in shock. "Well now, how in the world did I get in here?" he asked jokingly. "I certainly don't remember coming in here."

Calleigh giggled. "Apparently you sleepwalked."

Eric looked down at her as though she were crazy. "Nonsense. I don't sleepwalk. Never have," he said, a wide grin on his face. "So I guess I'm in here," he paused, "because you must have invited me in here."

Calleigh laughed, playfully hitting his arm. "You're impossible."

Eric pretended to pout, causing a new bout of giggles to overtake Calleigh. "Does that mean you're kicking me out, then?"

"Oh, absolutely not," Calleigh replied with a bright smile before looping her arms back around his neck and bringing his lips back to hers.


End file.
